My buddie made an offer on a '49 1/2 ton short box Studebaker PU today and if the lady accepts his offer we plan on picking it up tomorrow. I have checked my 56 Motors manual and it is not clear on Pos or neg ground for the Battery. Can anyone for sure let me know which! This truck has been parked since 1974 in a carport in this ladies back yard. Mileage is 46,000- no rust anywhere! A few dents not bad. Perfect dash. Motor turns over by hand. Really nice survivor. Pictures to follow if we make the deal. Ter409
Should be a 6V positive ground if all still 100% factory. But, that isn't to say by '74 someone didn't make it a negative ground system and/or change it to 12V. It isn't that hard to do either. Basically, if you change out the light bulbs and the battery and check the polarity on the voltage regulator, you are good to go. All the rest of the electrical system can will work fine at 12V neg. or positive ground. Even the 6V starter is fine at 12V and actually works better. All the gauges work fine at 12V too. Exception might be the gas gauge, but I think that is ok as well. I have had mine running propane for years now and don't recall how the gas gauge did when it was running gasoline. I don't recall it being off. If there is a battery still in it and connected, that should tell you how it is currently set up for. If none, maybe just pull the light bulbs (or let them burn out, no big harm) and put in a fresh 12V battery, polarize the regulator and go for it at 12V right from the start. Regardless, you might want to give the wiring system a good once over to check for bare or degraded wires so as not to potentially cause problems with that and maybe even a fire. You should do that before ever charging the system back up no matter what voltage or polarity. Wouldn't be good to burn the truck up first thing off the bat.
There might be information on the generator. I think the one on my IH says 12 volt neg ground or something like that.
Oh, right, forgot about the generator part. Yes, that will need to be swapped too if needed. But, is a lot easier to find a 12V one also.
If it doesn't have an old battery in it take a look at the coil for the ground. The primary circuit post going to the distributor will show if it is a + ground or a - ground. The polarity of the distributor side of the coil will always be the same as the polarity of the ground on any vehicle that is hooked up correctly.
Update on Pick-up: After making a solid cash offer the ladies husband killed the deal. He is going to get it on the road after 38 years sitting in their back yard carport!!! Yea sure! Ter409
Too bad. Check back next year when it is still sitting untouched and see if he has come to his senses yet. Or wait for the divorce, which might be sooner.
Well the lady who owned the pick-up called and decided to sell. A new price was settled upon and we went and picked it up today. All the tires aired up and we loaded it on my trailer. This thing is so rust free !!!! We are optimistic that it will start and run. Real cute truck. Ter409
the coil idea sounds like a good one......often I've taken a look at the cables and if one post is narrow - most likely the neg side - with the other cable post being wider - the pos side.....like was said early if it's orginal pos is grounded....let us know.....clean up the points and put some gas down that carb.....stand back....she might just fire off.....good luck....
OK some info! 4spd truck so no OD. Original seats are decent but will need to be redone. The plan is to get it running. Clean it up and rub out the paint. Do the brakes and tires. and drive it. Ter409
A 4 speed. Is the shifter on the floor? More pics would be nice. I have a '57 Transtar. Ya got a keeper there. I really like orphans.
My buddy, Dan's 49 or 50....bought it mounted on a 4X4 S-10 chassis with a 350 engine. He loves it like this.
O.K. We pulled the gas tank that was 1/2 full of varnish. Really stinky stuff! It is now in the boil out tank at the local shop. All new radiator and heater hoses, new fuel lines and cleaned out the glass fuel bowl. New Plugs! Kept the same wires and cap and points. New battery and it was + Pos ground. Ran a fuel line to a can. Primed the carb and it fired up!!! Oil pressure 45 to 50. Generator charging. No oil or anti freeze leaks! Had to turn the idle screw in one turn but it idles fine now. Motor is quiet all most can't hear it running. One brake is real tight so we will have to address the brake system but it does stop. Happy Happy Happy Ter409
awesome i got a 49 in the summer it was garage kept for 10 years. It runs great still. Mine had some rust issues in the normal spots. But yeh i'm sure its 6volt Positive ground. We are in the process of converting to 12vlt. neg. Good luck, i'm interested to keep up with what your doing to it!
hey i know you said it doesnt have any rust, but double check a few areas. The bottoms of the doors, the rocker panels, the back of the front fenders(where it butts up against the doors) and the rear cab corners. Those spots were all shot in my truck, and from what i gather that was not a rare thing for those trucks. Better to find that stuff now, then when you think the projects done. Also if there is a spot on your truck thats not going to be fixed with patchwork, there is a site that sells all the sheet metal for those truck and its reasonable! www.classicent.com Also i found they dont have everything but they have a lot of things you may need! www.studebaker-intl.com
Deadbodyman!! Update on the pick-up. We had the gas tank in the local shop boil-out for several days before it cleaned up. The tank is now back in the truck. The brakes were not installed correct so alittle work was needed. They now work O.K. The throttle linkage needs some work. The trucks paint has been rubbed out and polished and is in very good condition. We have not found any deep rust anywhere on this truck. It is snowing now so not much is being done on the truck right now. Ter409
Is this truck a 2R5 or a2R6? The 5 has the Champion six [170 cu. in.] while the 6 has the larger Commander six [around 224 cu.in]. There should be an I.D. tag on the driver's side step well. Somewhere on that tag it should say 2R5 or 2R6. The bigger of the two engines is rarer. Both are good reliable engines. The Commander engine was used in various trucks thru 1960, I believe. After about 1952 it was enlarge to 246 cu. in. I had this engine in a '50 2R6 and loved it. That said the Champion engine has a larger availability of parts and is a lovely engine as well. The Studebaker Drivers Club Forum can be a great source of information if and when you need it.
The Jalopy Journal
